Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book

This book attempts to look like an old, original journal of Lady Angela Cotterman but admits straight up to being written by Terry Jones and illustrated by the paintings of Brian Froud.

When Angela Cottington first begins pressingfairies into her journal she is just a child. Obviously suffering from OCD Angela even presses what little scraps of escaped fairies she can get her hands on.

Over time Angela’s fairy capture methods refine, along with her handwriting and prose. She presses more and more fairies while also jotting down her (and their) exploits. At other times curious fairies land on her journal and she just slams the book closed, pressing one more “psychic fairy impression” into her journal!

But finally, the fairies' patience comes to an end. Even though they are not killed by the pressing process….they invite Angela to “tea” and take their revenge.

After “tea” Angela writes: “It was at this point I realized I was stark naked, rolling on my back in the garlic mustard that grows in the wood. I had no clue where my clothes were and as the Vicar threw his cloak over me and escorted me back to the house I pretended to be delirious. I spent the next 3 days in bed.”

By now her future in proper Victorian society is in jeopardy PLUS the fairies are on to her. What is poor Angela to do? There will be no further spoilers from this source and if you go to a bookstore just to check the ending you will find that the final pages (the ones with the more “adult” fairy pressings) are sealed, to be opened only after purchase!

The illustrations are wonderful if your sense of humor is sufficiently enough warped to find amusement in the flattened expressions of surprise, horror, or delight as fairies are pressed into the book. The text provides a lovely rational for Angela’s “bad behavior” ala the Victorian model, as she moves through her teen and young adult years.